“It doesn’t affect me. I don’t even listen to the words.”
This is an example of the average quote a teenager makes when you talk about music. I have even had teens playing music that talks, in slang terms, about young women in a degrading manner, pre-marital sex, drunkenness, drug use and more; but I’m told; “We can listen to this because it’s the clean version.”
Teenagers like to think that they are impenetrable. They believe that they can withstand the worst of storms and live to make it until the end. There are certainly times when that hope is the only thing to get you through a difficult time. Yet when it comes to sin we are told this in Ephesians 5:11:
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
We are not to input sin and wickedness into our lives — I’m not just referring to music, but gossip, lust, greed, coarse joking, foolish talk, obscenity and the like (Ephesians 5:3-5).
We are to “have nothing to do with them.” It’s easy for us, however, to get caught up in them. We have our inner sinful nature just licking its chops to take in some dark deed. We have the world around us more than willing to provide us with some wickedness. We have set up our lives with walled off sections so those in one room don’t know what we do in the other rooms.
It’s easy to long for and take sin into our lives. The Bible, however, calls this idolatry (Ephesians 5:5).
It is putting our lust, our selfishness, our jealousy, our greed, ourselves before the one true and holy God; the only One who deserves all the praise.
What should we do instead? If you are a follower of Christ, Ephesians 5:8 tells us to “Live as children of light… and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Look in the Word of God to find out what makes God rejoice. Pray and ask for wisdom and strength to make a successful journey. This is not the success of the world, but success in pleasing God. This month, even more so than all, give thanks to God and live a life that honors Him.
Even the smallest of sins permeates into your mind and heart. Have nothing to do with it and, instead, be filled with the Spirit and give thanks to God the Father for everything (Ephesians 5:18-20).